Our View: Best choice for Rock Valley College president is already here

Sunday

Mar 30, 2014 at 9:00 AM

The best person to be Rock Valley College’s next president has been here all along. Trustees should remove the interim before the title and make Mike Mastroianni the man to succeed Jack Becherer.

Mastroianni had his chance to impress the public Wednesday during a public forum at RVC. He was the last of three candidates to participate in a community forum. A fourth candidate dropped out to take a job at a different college.

The other finalists have excellent credentials, but Mastroianni’s private sector experience, combined with his work in multiple roles at RVC, makes him the most qualified.

An additional quality that sets Mastroianni apart is his own experience as a first-generation college student. He got his associate’s degree from RVC and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rockford College (now Rockford University.)

He knows how difficult it is to put yourself through school, and his experience will help him relate to first-generation students who want to get their start at RVC.

This region doesn’t have enough college-educated adults, who typically earn more than those who didn’t go to college and thereby add to a community’s wealth. About 20 percent of Rockford adults have a bachelor’s degree or more. In Illinois, the number is 29.8 percent. Nationwide, it’s 27.5.

We can’t expect a flood of college-educated people to start moving to Rockford. Instead, we must grow our own, and Rock Valley is a great place to start. Mastroianni’s been there and can be an example for students striving for a better life.

Mastroianni understands the challenges in this community. He realizes the importance of developing robust career and technical educational opportunities while maintaining a strong liberal arts program.

Rock Valley College is vital to the region. The expansion of RVC’s aviation maintenance program at Chicago Rockford International Airport to serve the region’s aerospace industry was an important development that will support jobs that are already here and jobs that may come here.

Mastroianni was instrumental in getting that deal done, and he has the right personality to broker more deals and form more partnerships, whether they be with schools or businesses.

The Rockford School District promoted from within when it picked Ehren Jarrett to be superintendent. Under Jarrett’s leadership, there’s more optimism about what’s going on in Rockford schools than there has been in decades. Picking the local guy worked for District 205, and we think it will work for Rock Valley.

Rock Valley can’t afford to hire a president who would take six months to find all the coffee shops. Mastroianni has experience, deep roots in the community and a record of success. He can continue the progress Becherer and board trustees worked so hard to create.

Rock Valley is on a roll. Besides the aforementioned aviation maintenance program, the school has been designated a Right Skills Now college, which will help up-and-coming manufacturing workers. RVC is one of 10 in the country to receive the recognition. RVC also is coming off of successful men’s and women’s basketball programs.

Mastroianni is best equipped to keep the momentum going. We hope trustees agree and name him president.

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